


My Heart Will Never Vary

by alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Lime, Love Confessions, M/M, Preventers (Gundam Wing), Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 15:56:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist/pseuds/alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist
Summary: by Sheron--Months have gone by after the events after Endless Waltz and Heero is trying to figure out if he is ready for a healthy relationship. It's not whether or not he is in love with Duo. It's whether or not Duo is in love with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Dacia, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [A Little Piece of Gundam Wing](https://fanlore.org/wiki/A_Little_Piece_Of_Gundam_Wing), which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after July 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [a little piece of gundam wing collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/alittlepieceofgundamwing/profile).

"Tant que je vive, mon cueur ne changera  
Pour nulle vivante, tant soit elle bonne ou saige  
Forte et puissante, riche de hault lignage  
Mon chois est fait, aultre ne se fera."  
(Long as I live, my heart will never vary  
For no one else, however fair or good  
Brave, resolute or rich, of gentle blood  
My choice is made, and I will have no other.)  
  
\+   
  
Heero, on assignment from the Preventers, had investigated a factory, checking out equipment, workforce, and, after the evening shift was over, the premises and internal network. This factory's intranet was a secretive one, completely disconnected from the outside world, and thus un- hackable from the outside. The factory itself was largely mechanized, and robots performed most of the work, with only technical maintenance people overseeing the machines, and a small cleaning staff in place to keep the building sanitary.  
  
Given an assignment like this, Heero had snuck into the factory over a fence, vaulted into an open lower-floor window that he knew led into an accountant's office, snuck out of the said office into the hall, then the mainstream production room and disappeared between the rows of machinery. He had then memorized the types of equipment, eavesdropped on the workers and hacked into the mainframe server, breathing in relief when he found nothing suspicious. The company was not perfect, but he had been sent to check for possible terrorist activities not avoidance of taxes by a few of the employees. The only reason the Preventers even worried about this factory was its meek behavior. Heero would just have to report to his boss that decent people still existed in the world. He found this case rather refreshing, actually.  
  
So it was as he backtracked his steps into the same accountant's office and opened the door he bumped into another person sneaking out of it. Immediately on guard, Heero was prepared to feed the stranger a lie about his presence in the area when he noticed that the young man before him wasn't a stranger at all.  
  
Duo stared back at him, bewilderment similar to Heero's dawning on his face.  
  
"Heero?" This was without a doubt some kind of mix up. The Preventers could not have sent both of them on the same mission without notifying them.  
  
Before this scene could become public, Heero forced his way into the door opening that Duo still stood in the middle of, grabbing the other boy by his elbow and dragging him inside. Duo shut the door behind them.  
  
Getting straight to business as he turned around to face the braided boy, Heero was the first to ask, "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Preventer's assignment. You?" Duo still looked baffled.  
  
"Same." Heero frowned, "What are you researching? Is Lady Une second guessing my decisions?"  
  
"Lady Une doesn't know I am anywhere _near_ this place." Duo pacified him. "I didn't know I would have to visit this factory until two hours ago. There's been a disappearance of an important banker, and I'm trying to find where he's been seen last. That's why I'm here. Tell me you have a different assignment..."  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
" _Great_ , I was beginning to suspect Lady Une had sent you to check up on _me_."   
  
They both felt some relief. If Lady Une had been checking up on them, then neither Heero nor Duo would have reveled in the implications. However, what worried Heero more was that Duo's mission could easily turn out to be an ugly one. Rich bankers made bad enemies and sometimes they made good hostages. After the war, Heero had tried to remove himself from death as much as possible and so had Duo _\--_ so had all of them. Duo, in fact, only worked for the Preventers on a contract basis, taking each case a month apart when he was unable to handle the (unusual for him) boredom of a stable life.   
  
"So," Duo continued, "since you're here we might as well catch up." He smiled mischievously, "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you typing away on your computer in...uh, weeks!"  
  
"I've had a few field assignments to work on." Heero replied, trying not to check the time on his watch. He had a certain schedule to work with but knew he was going to suffer if he so much as snuck a peek at the watch. Hell hath no fury like Shinigami scorned.  
  
"Is that why you're here? Making sure the factory is running smoothly and manufacturing what it's supposed to?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"Okay, that's cool." Duo looked thoughtful for a moment, "Are you in a hurry or can you wait for me? A peek is all I need."  
  
Heero considered his options, mentally running through a few scenarios for the evening. For some reason, the ones with Duo in them all seemed more interesting than those without him. Besides, he could look out for Duo this way. Heero had his own issues to work out after the war, but he was not blind to the fact that Duo could be emotionally fragile to an even greater extent.   
  
"Do it quickly." He told the braided boy. Duo's face split into an easy smile.   
  
"Sure thing. Wait here for me, ok?" the boy said and Heero nodded.  
  
Duo walked smoothly over to the door, opened it a crack this time making sure he didn't run into anybody and snuck through. There was a moment of silence, then before Heero could take a look at his watch to find out how far behind his mental schedule he was, the door swiftly opened again, Duo rushed inside and closed it behind him.  
  
"People in the corridor. Four." he explained stiffly, annoyed that he couldn't seem to leave the confines of this office. At his words, Heero became unsettled. They didn't have clearance to be in this area, and while a good bluff would work on the workers, accountants and such tended to be more suspicious by virtue of the fact that they had a lot more expensive items on their body.  
  
"Are they heading in this direction?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"There are only two offices in this section," Heero informed the other boy.  
  
Duo looked worried as well. "Hmm, are you thinking they might come in?"  
  
Heero shrugged. "They could be headed to the second office. It's further down the hall."  
  
"I wouldn't bet on it. Murphy's law says we should hide."  
  
Anything that can go wrong _\--_ will go wrong. Heero could follow Duo's logic fine. Looking around the room he spotted a metallic closet in the corner, and immediately decided that Duo would fit inside easily.  
  
"Go hide in the closet."  
  
"Ne, Heero don't leave. You can hide in there with me." Duo asked him, already backing towards the closet intending to hide himself, but not giving up on Heero.  
  
He only offered because he couldn't guess at the mental picture that suddenly sprung into Heero's mind. Trying not to blush, he firmly refused, "I'll leave. We can catch up later."  
  
"Heero, don't be a dork!" Duo was so indignant he missed the surprise that flared in Heero's eyes at the insult, "There's enough space in that closet for _three_ people _\--_ we'll fit right in!"  
  
After he realized that in Duo's mouth 'dork' had about as much insulting force as 'baka' did in his, Heero decided not to be offended. Instead, he figured he should save Duo from his own runaway mouth. After all, the people in the hallway were moving and if the two of them didn't do something immediately, they would likely be discovered. Therefore, he strode over to where Duo hovered uncertainly near the closet, opened its door, pushed the other boy in and shut the door behind him. All Duo had the time to voice was a strangled yelp.  
  
That accomplished, Heero moved swiftly towards the window, intending to hide on the other side. However, before he could jump over the windowsill the walls of the closet began to shake under the force of Duo's fists.  
  
Once again, Heero returned to the closet and struck a flat-palmed blow of his own on the wall to silence Duo for a second. "Be quiet!" he hissed into the complete silence that followed.  
  
Completely disobeying the order, Duo, after a moment's hesitations, began to pound on the wall even harder. Heero could even hear some of the curses from the inside.  
  
Realizing that Duo would be discovered and unable to allow that to happen, he swiftly unlocked the door, and immediately got an armful of Duo falling on top of him. He gathered the boy in his arms and forced both of them into the closet, shutting the door behind them gently so that the lock wouldn't click and lock them inside.  
  
Before Duo could even draw enough air in, Heero shut his mouth with his hand pressing the boy against one of the wall.  
  
"Shh, I'm here."  
  
Instead of being placated, Duo bit him _\--_ not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make Heero withdraw his hand.  
  
"Heero," Duo whispered in a low voice so that nobody but Heero would hear, "that banker I've been looking for...I think I found him."   
  
In the darkness Heero's raised eyebrow could not be seen, but Duo continued on his own.  
  
"That, behind you, is not an empty closet."  
  
Heero didn't quite make the connection even when dread begun spreading through his system, until Duo whispered in a strangled voice, "It's the banker."  
  
A moment of silence, punctuated by two distinctive breathing patterns and an even more obvious absence of a third one. Heero's movement was completely instinctive _\--_ his body slumped away from the thing behind him, and forward against Duo in revolt at the mere thought. His back hadn't touched anything yet, but he didn't want to risk it. Wanting to clarify he punctuated his words exactly, "There is a body behind me?"  
  
"Yep," Duo's voice was just above a squeak.  
  
Now Heero could guess what all the pounding on the door had been about.  
  
Careful not to alarm the other boy he disentangled himself and stood straighter first testing, then gaining confidence that he won't touch the corpse, he separated himself from Duo completely, except for his two hands on Duo's shoulders in a calming gesture. Throughout the experience Duo didn't so much as twitch, lying limply against the wall. He must have gotten quite a scare being shoved in this closet like that, and Heero now regretted doing something so rash. For all his cheerful masks, Duo was hurt horribly by the events of the war and even, perhaps, events prior to that. Heero knew some vague details about Duo growing up on the streets. The last thing Heero wanted to do was upset whatever balance Duo had set up for himself after the war. Shoving Duo in a closet with a corpse in it was not the best move he had ever made.  
  
"Duo," he spoke calmly, "we can't come out now, or we will get caught."  
  
"Okay." Duo tried to shake Heero's hands off, but soon gave up.  
  
"As soon as we're sure the people are gone, we'll get out through the window and call the police."  
  
"Okay." A little steadier now.  
  
They stood in silence, listening for any noise.  
  
"Heero, I'm fine," Duo assured him, remembering to reassemble his mask. He was like a kid whose life had taught him that acting weak was like surrendering the gun to your enemy and shouting 'shoot me'...and perhaps Heero could relate to some extent.  
  
He wasn't going to argue about it. If Duo could keep himself in control this way, it was only for the better. Heero was willing to help him any way he could.  
  
+  
  
There were some advantages to being employed by the Preventers, and one was the badge that got the police off their backs in 2 minutes flat. After the sirens stopped screaming and the body was carried off for identification, Heero and Duo stood by the only police car that was left on the scene and breathed in enough fresh air to forget the vileness of the closet. Or rather Duo sat, and Heero silently worried over the other boy while standing by his side.  
  
He considered hooking Duo up with some respectable counselors but figured it would only get him a snarl and some silence where Duo was concerned. For someone with such a strong 'gang' mentality, and someone so outgoing and friendly, Duo disturbingly often played the part of a lone wolf. Events in his life had taught him to depend only on himself, evidently. Once they were back at the office, Heero was going to have to talk to Lady Une who for some reason seemed to forget which cases she should not give to certain people. No doubt there was a dedicated professional somewhere who could have solved the case well, without it affecting him to the same extent it affected Duo. Lady Une will have to find that professional, because Duo was sure as hell not staying on this case. The last thing the boy needed was visiting morgues. Heero himself was not unaffected, but he'd hardly known anything of the person that was carried off to the morgue, unlike Duo who'd probably been on the case for weeks.  
  
Duo may have tried distancing himself from death by calling himself Shinigami, but it had only worked marginally well. From his diligent observations, Heero could only conclude that Duo was convinced that death would surround his life all the time and that Duo simply couldn't _stand_ the idea. He was a people's person and the people around him dropped like flies for all sorts of reasons. It was enough to drive anybody mad.  
  
"Let's go, Duo." He motioned slightly with his head to where public transportation was. "My car is parked a few blocks from here,"  
  
"I'd rather walk," was the boy's reply. Even with his lips split in a smile, his voice came out weary. Heero correctly took the comment to mean 'walk to the car'. The marched to the vehicle, grim faced and silent, giving a voicelessly agreed upon respect to the dead.  
  
Once they drove off, Heero automatically chose his apartment. It was just a friendly gesture he wanted to make.  
  
+  
  
Duo had walked with him on an autopilot, Heero realized by the sudden surprised look on the boy's face when they stopped in front of Heero's apartment door. Duo stared at it for a second as though trying to reconstruct the events that he'd let slide past him, paying them no heed. Heero caught the slightest tightening of the lips.  
  
"Would you like to stay for tea?" Heero offered.   
  
Duo let an shrug ripple through his whole body, "Yeah, sure."  
  
"Come in." Heero unlocked the door, "No need to take your shoes off."  
  
Duo looked around as though checking that Heero hadn't changed anything since he was last here, and murmured, "U-hum."  
  
Heero moved to the kitchen, pausing to throw his jacket on the sofa, knowing Duo could make himself comfortable without being offered to. He set the water to boil, then reached for the closest shelf that was packed with different aromatic teas and chose one without caffeine, knowing that Duo would prefer to get some sleep rather than stumble around all night insomniac from it. One minute later when the boiling water was almost ready he heard Duo coming into the kitchen, the feeling accompanied by the jitters that always went together with another person's approach and an itch to feel the gun he'd left in his jacket back in his hands. It was a reflex, but he easily relaxed again.  
  
The tea was almost ready.  
  
"Huh," Duo said thoughtfully staring at the microwave.  
  
Heero gave him a questioning look.  
  
Duo snorted and sighed, idly scratching at the paint on the wall, "Thought it was an easy mission," He shook his head, gaze wandering briefly to the kitchen sink as though he could divine something from it. "Ah well." He tapped on the counter a few times, sighed again and wandered back into the living room.  
  
Heero turned to make the tea without sugar _\--_ both of them liked it better with jam. He carried the hot cups into the room and placed them on the table, returning to the kitchen for jam. The can he'd been wanting to use was empty so he dug into the refrigerator pulling out another one.  
  
"Heero," a carrying voice echoed from the other room, "nothing sweet is going to make me into a faster investigator."  
  
Heero set the jam on the counter-top. Almost in the same beat as the can hit the counter, the door of his apartment shut loudly.  
  
He ran towards it, following Duo, and slowing down only in time to see the doors of the elevator opening for the boy. Heero didn't follow him, and Duo placed one hand against the elevator doors, holding them as he turned to give Heero a smile.  
  
"I'll take a rain-check on that tea." Heero looked at the stretch of Duo's lips. It was so...terrible. How could anyone look so sad with a grin like that on his face?  
  
"It's not raining." Heero told him.  
  
Duo continued to look at him. The elevator was trying to close, but he held it back with a little effort.  
  
"Running is not going to make you into a faster investigator." Heero added after a moment's hesitation, hoping to get through to the boy.  
  
Duo placed himself in the way of the elevator doors that kept threatening to close, the elevator suddenly began to emit high-pitched ringing that signaled the doors had stayed open for too long.  
  
"That's not why I'm running. It's just that there's no space for my pain in your apartment." Duo told him with a cheerful grin on his face, stepping inside finally, letting the doors close. Heero thought of all the things he could do to make Duo happy, if the boy would just let him.   
  
Before the doors closed, Heero told him, suddenly, "You haven't seen my bedroom. It's quite empty."  
  
The doors closed on Duo's widened eyes and parted lips.   
  
Heero blushed. That had been _awful_.  
  
At least the fake grin was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> by Sheron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note from Dacia, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [A Little Piece of Gundam Wing](https://fanlore.org/wiki/A_Little_Piece_Of_Gundam_Wing), which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after July 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [a little piece of gundam wing collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/alittlepieceofgundamwing/profile).

Two hours later, he called Lady Une at home as the working day was over. She picked up the phone dressed in a pink robe, reminding him of Relena and her upcoming visit to the city. He made a mental note to look into security of that event.  
  
Lady Une looked surprised and worried to see him on her phone screen _\--_ that was actually a fairly common reaction when people saw him.  
  
"Heero, is something the matter?"  
  
"Lady Une," He nodded respectfully to her, "I'm here to request that Duo be partnered with me from now on. His latest mission has not been a success and I propose that this move will be benefiting to both of us."  
  
Lady Une tried and failed to follow his logic the first time around.  
  
"Duo's mission is a failure? What _\--_ Ah, I recall Morrison giving him that banker who disappeared..." She referred to the case, "What happened?"  
  
"The banker is dead." Heero told her flatly, "You will see the details on the news."  
  
Lady Une's countenance grew saddened, then grave.  
  
"Are you concerned about Duo? He is a strong young man."  
  
"He is an 18-year-old boy who fought in a war since he was 15. He doubts that there were any right causes in the war and the blood he's spilled is not getting washed away."  
  
"Heero-"  
  
He cut her off, "He lost many people even before the war, as can be evidenced from the history of L2 colony he comes from." He was working up steam, "His psyche is fragile and assigning him a kidnapping case _was a mistake_."  
  
Hands white from squeezing the tabletop too hard, he waited for Lady Une's reply. "Heero," she sighed sadly, bowing her head for a second.  
  
"I am not placing blame."  
  
Lady Une looked up, sighing again and appearing to consider his offer.  
  
"Are you sure you want to work together? Will the two of you be able to maintain objectivity?"  
  
Heero looked her.  
  
"Right." She smiled humourlessly, "Forgot who I was talking to for a second." He waited for her reply.  
  
"Heero, if Duo doesn't mind I have no objection."  
  
"Thank you. Good night, Lady." Heero reached out to switch the phone off.  
  
"Heero." Lady Une stopped him, "I am glad you asked for this. I am still hoping you will resign someday. Maybe Duo will help this along. He doesn't work full time, after all." She smiled kindly, allowing him to see the meaning behind her words. Heero understood.  
  
He nodded and switched the phone off; moving on to hacking the security system of the hotel Relena would be staying at. For about an hour he attempted to work, before finally giving up after another mistyped command. His mind wasn't on the work.  
  
+  
  
Heero watched the snowflake drift down from behind the glass of the window. It wasn't the most productive thing to do (e.g. he could shovel the snow outside) but the snowflake was beautiful as it drifted down until it was obscured by the window's frame. Heero tried to understand why he considered the snowflake beautiful.  
  
_Duo said so, and Quatre, and--_  
  
No.  
  
There had to be a better reason than that. He would have to find the beauty on his own.  
  
Boredom was one of the key reasons he worked for the Preventers. Someday, like Lady Une had recommended, he would stop working full-time for them and maybe resign. For now, the job was dangerous enough to lend some excitement to his life and, at the same time, was nowhere near as life threatening as piloting a Gundam had been. More and more now, he was being given missions where no lives were endangered. He rather liked it that way, knowing that the Preventers were full of competent staff that could handle the more dangerous situations. The war _\--_ it was over. Sighing, Heero turned away from the window and glanced around his empty apartment. It was still as clean as it had been half an hour ago, when he'd last checked.   
  
He thought some more. His laundry was done. Trying to be creative he went over some of the more unusual housework, but, alas, the car didn't need fixing, there was food in the refrigerator and the plant on the window has been watered. Probably too much. He made for the other side of the room and bent over the small rose, observing. The ground was soft and a little on the wet side. The leaves were not infested with the horrible little bugs like a week ago (it has taken him this long to get rid of the pests), and the rose itself was in full bloom. It was orange.  
  
Duo had said it was the color of dawn, and Wufei had snorted at the braided idiot and said it was orange. Heero had to agree. It was a paler shade of orange than you see, for example, on the police tape usually present on any crime scene, but orange nonetheless. And it didn't need watering.  
  
Heero sighed as his eyes traveled unwittingly up. He saw another thousand tiny snowflakes falling to their end and averted his gaze. They were cold, wet, and probably contained too much sulfuric acid to be healthy. And the damned things weren't very beautiful.  
  
Duo had said snowflakes were nature's way of showing off and when Heero had looked at him then, he'd been stricken by the raw emotion in the other boy's eyes and he'd thought _\--_ for one brief moment _\--_ that the way snow landed on the tip of Duo's nose was the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed.  
  
It was pretty obvious from then on... Which is why he got the plant. He'd heard about the process when he'd been researching an infirmary for people suffering from alcoholic addiction _\--_ an assignment from Preventer's Headquarters, obviously, not a personal goal. An old woman sat behind the desk in the small dusty office and stared at him with welcoming gray eyes.   
  
He'd asked questions like, "How many people do you receive per month?" and "How many relapse?" and also "What do people who undergo treatment do afterwards?"   
  
The first two questions she'd answered with numbers that were not particularly encouraging (he drew a conclusion that the drunk men who'd started shooting the ceiling a few days ago on one of the public city councilors' meeting were no exception to the rule), but the third question captured Heero's attention. She'd told him, "They try to be as normal as possible. Look for a new relationship or try to rebuild the old ones. That kind of thing."  
  
"What if they're not ready?" Heero had asked, "Wouldn't their problems reflect on their life and attitude to others?"  
  
"Sure they would. And not all go out and find somebody, right away. You've got to wait a bit, adjust to normal life." Then she smiled kindly at his serious face and continued, "Life's easier when you have someone to share it with." Heero had nodded, although he couldn't really remember why. The woman's whole manner had simply demanded it, then.  
  
"But how do they know how long is long enough? How do they know when they are ready?" Heero hadn't really expected her advice to sound so...practical. It just seemed to go against her generally dreamy appearance.  
  
"First you get a plant," she had said, "and you keep it for a year. If it doesn't die, then you buy a pet and look after it for another year. Then, if it's alive, you can think about dating." Llaughing and winking, she added, "I wish all young people would do that before jumping into relationships." Then she nonchalantly returned to her papers.  
  
And so, when weeks later, on one snowy December afternoon, Heero had stared at Duo _\--_ laughing and blinking the snow out of his eyes _\--_ and felt his heart constrict in the sudden desire to skip straight to dating, he thought about the old woman. And the next day he went out and bought the rose.  
  
That had been four months ago, and Heero felt more than ready to skip to the pet stage.  
  
Drawn out of his contemplations by a slight beeping in the other room, he sighed, recognizing the sound. Two minutes later he was downloading the instructions and smiling a small, private smile.   
  
Sometimes he could easily believe Lady Une had an internal sensor for when he was ready to start climbing the walls from boredom. She'd also heeded his emotional appeal, and specified in her e-mail that Duo would be working with him this time. It was probably going to be a test, but he'd never had a problem working with Duo before and it would be a breeze to return to that state of mind. He cracked his knuckles, stretching and went to find his gun.   
  
Finding his gun turned out to be a harder task than he'd anticipated.   
  
Actually, he recognized early in the game that it must have been Duo's 'creative skills' that led to the sudden disappearance of the weapon, but he gave up only 10 minutes later, and only because he was afraid that he'd have to _fly_ his car to the meeting if he didn't get going soon. So he stopped looking and dialed the familiar number.  
  
"Hi, this is Duo, leave a mes-"  
  
Heero hang up. He growled at the closest available wall for a second, and then dialed again. "Hi, this is Duo, leave a message, I might call you back."  
  
Preparing to leave a message, Heero was surprised to find the voice mail had something else to say.  
  
"Heero, the gun is with the munchies. Beep."   
  
Heero's silent glare was recorded on the video screen. He hung up without a word, thinking that Duo might have a little fun trying to figure out when he was going to meet his _timely_ end. Let him wonder, the little bastard!  
  
Next, he went to the kitchen and started looking through all the drawers. He found the gun in a box for flour, with a smiley face drawn on a post-it note. When Duo had the time to do this in the five minutes he was at Heero's place was an interesting question.  
  
He tucked the gun in a sheath under his arm, inside the jacket of his Preventer's uniform. Automatically he was hurrying, but nothing prepared him for the number he saw on the clock in the living room as he ran past it. He stared at it in confusion. He was _never_ late... There was a first time for everything.  
  
+  
  
When the secretaries moved out of his way, they were following an ingrained instinct of survival. It couldn't have been his face _\--_ he tried to keep his expression neutral. But Heero walked, no he stalked...no he _shot_ in to Lady's office in a way that closely resembled a bullet penetrating flesh.   
  
The first thing he got when he walked in was a thorough look over. Not seeing any life- threatening wounds on him, Lady Une lifted an elegant eyebrow.  
  
"I apologize for my lateness. There is no excuse." He answered her questioning silence.  
  
"It's all right, we haven't started yet." Lady Une nodded.  
  
Quatre smiled at him, quite comfortable sitting in a chair by the wall. Today he was present because he'd been discussing Preventer's funding with one of the accountants and once he learned that both Duo and Heero were going to be in the building decided to wait up for them. Lady Une offered him to stay in her office once she saw him standing alone in the hallway.  
  
"Yeah, we were watching you car fly in," Duo added from his place.  
  
Heero's head turned only marginally, but the look he had fixed Duo with must have been impressive, because the other boy let some of the nervousness show in his eyes. When Duo tugged at his tight collar in another expression of nervousness, Heero wished he had a mirror.  
  
"Err...Why don't you go on with the meeting. I'll talk to you afterwards." Quatre was smoothening the tension in the air, his eyes darting between Heero and Duo.   
  
Lady Une's eyes were laughing. Lately, Heero has been finding that she was a hopeless romantic at heart. She smelled it everywhere, and took great amusement in showing that she knew. God, it pissed him off! Of all the people he might have wanted to figure out his romantic interests, Lady Une was close to last. And the real kicker was that no one else had figured it out but her. Sometimes Heero couldn't believe his luck, really.  
  
"No, Quatre, stay if you don't mind." Some of the amusement melted off her face as she returned to business, "Your insight might help." Quatre shot her a quizzical gaze but sat back down on his chair.  
  
Quatre's presence meant that the mission they would be doing somehow involved politics. The young head of the Winner Corporation was often involved in one or another political intrigues, much like Relena. The last time Heero had ended up hand-cuffing a political spy who was out of a job after Romaffeller fell, and was looking for a new employer in the high circles of government.   
  
Trowa had also done that mission with him. That was before he'd decided to give more of his effort to the circus where Catherine worked. Now that the group had gone off on a tour, the only time Heero heard from the other boy was when Quatre remembered to forward short cryptic messages to Duo who subsequently forwarded them to Heero and Wufei. They all wanted to keep in touch, at least on the most minimalist level. Of course, Heero thought wryly, he wanted to be 'in touch' with _Duo_ a lot more than any other pilot.  
  
He sat down on his chair, and Lady Une briefed them on their plans for tomorrow.  
  
+  
  
After the briefing they all rose silently from their chairs. Lady Une let them go with a brief nod.  
  
"Oh, and Heero," It seemed that their boss had one last thing to say, "your latest secretary has resigned. Again."   
  
"Good. She was incompetent." Heero honestly thought that would be the end of that conversation. But the people he worked with had other ideas _\--_ they were a strange bunch.  
  
"Heero, she wasn't all that bad. She came with great credentials." Lady Une protested mildly.   
  
Quatre put in an agreeable, "She was nice."   
  
"She brought me coffee every day. Cream, sugar, just how I like it!" Duo mourned his loss from the seat he still lazed in, even though they were about to leave. "And the cookies alone..." he mumbled under her breath, blushing when he realized he'd been heard.  
  
How he got Heero's secretary to bring him coffee was a question for another day, Heero decided. This was, after all, not the first time. Every single one of Heero's secretaries, who'd hated him after the first time they worked together, had loved Duo on sight, as did Quatre's female body- guard who sometimes followed him around and looked tough for the press, as well as Trowa's secretary before he left and even Wufei's when the Chinese boy was around. Even Lady Une's secretary brought Duo coffee _\--_ and he was a man.  
  
Again, Heero brought up his main point _\--_ sometimes people missed it the first time around. "She was incompetent."   
  
Duo was still defending the girl's skills. He only worked in the Preventers on a contract, not full- time like Heero and Wufei. Arguing that he would not be tied down by a job, he still took as many assignments as Heero, often the same ones, but would not commit. Duo didn't get a secretary so he hogged Heero's.  
  
"Come on, that wasn't that big a deal, just nervousness."   
  
"She spilled your coffee all over my desk, short-circuiting my laptop and causing me to loose 3 days worth of work." Delivered in the same tone as someone would say 'She blew up a colony'.  
  
"Jesus, Heero she was just a young kid, and you came on to her with 'mission parameters'. How could you _not_ expect her to be a little nervous?"   
  
Heero cocked his head curiously to the side; it seemed Duo had been quite enamored with the (now lost) 'coffee deal'.  
  
"Duo, she was your age. If you had made that mistake, I'd have shot you."  
  
The exasperated look on Duo's face, the wry smile on Quatre's _\--_ Heero didn't need any additional data to know that he'd won the argument.  
  
"Alright." Lady Une stood up and placed both of her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly. "I'll let you file your own reports for now, although I still think it's a waste of your time _\--_ time that we pay a lot more for than we do for the secretaries."  
  
Heero had a perfect counter argument to this: "It takes me 5.4 to 6.2 minutes on average to type up a lengthy report, you can deduct the money from my paycheck." He didn't add that she could take the whole paycheck _\--_ he wasn't working for the money. Ozzies had paid for his future with their accounts _\--_ they just didn't know how much so, and never would.  
  
"5.4?" Duo all but groaned from his chair, "Are you sure you don't want to give a more accurate approximation? 5.4 minutes and 3 seconds? No? 5 seconds?"  
  
Heero didn't bother with a comment. He was used to Duo's little digs. If he had accurate information, why not use it, instead of saying 'a couple', which was misleading? Lady Une seemed to see some of his determination on his face, so she finally gave in. She'd been trying to saddle him with a secretary ever since he'd started working for the Preventers, claiming that his time was too valuable to waste on typing up reports. Finally this battle was at an end, and Heero had emerged victorious. He liked typing up his reports. He'd done it for so long that it gave him a feeling of completion.  
  
"Fine, type your own damned reports. See if I care." She shook her head in exasperation, but it was obvious she was amused. Since there was no hostility in her amusement, the 'why' was not important to Heero.  
  
Duo had come up from behind, laying his hand on the cuff of Heero's left sleeve as though about to tug at it, but paused at the comment and rolled his eyes, until they came to rest on a far wall, a little distant from the memory. "You would not believe how many times I've used those exact words."  
  
"With same success rate, I gather?" Lady Une looked up at the braided boy in curiosity.  
  
"Success?" Duo turned to her with a positively devilish gleam in his eyes. "Heero knows that I always get what I want." He smiled wider, obviously baiting everybody _\--_ and succeeding if a couple of raised eyebrows were any indication. "Always." He added for good measure, looking straight into Heero's eyes.  
  
If Heero hadn't been completely ostracized from any kind of normal life when he was growing up, if he had been remotely interested in romance novels (which could explain that sort of thing), if he wasn't completely smitten by just staring into Duo's eyes he might have understood that Duo was flirting with him. As it was _\--_ and because he was so used to such behavior from his frivolous friend _\--_ he let it slide completely unnoticed, gathering himself before the heat from realization that he was staring could hit his cheeks.  
  
"It's been known." He allowed, at wits end on how to respond. Briefly, he wondered why Duo was blushing at his answer. He hadn't wanted to lie and the truth was that Duo did manage to get people to do things all the time; Heero had just never noticed it about himself. Sure he put all of his work aside, he actually listened to Duo when he would have ignored everyone else, he spent time with Duo when the other boy said he wanted it _\--_ but it had always been because Heero had wanted it as well. Now he was beginning to consider that maybe in Duo's eyes his 'submission', seen alongside so many other conquests (secretaries of the Preventers notwithstanding _\--_ they never had a chance), was ranked about the same as a skillful manipulation. Had Duo never though Heero _wanted_ to do all those thing? The thought left him numb. He remembered all the special moments they _hadn't_ shared, when he'd thought they had.  
  
Duo laughed, like he hadn't a care in the world, slapping the side of Heero's arm a little, all with a friendliness that was beginning to get irritating. Then he turned away and started talking to Quatre, completely changing the topic, his face returning to its normal color. His fingers let the cuff of Heero's shirt slip away.  
  
Heero watched the other people in the room in a kind of disconnected way. All those...all... It was always manipulation games to Duo?  
  
The sensation Heero felt at the thought was akin to cold, numbing water sliding down his back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> by Sheron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note from Dacia, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [A Little Piece of Gundam Wing](https://fanlore.org/wiki/A_Little_Piece_Of_Gundam_Wing), which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after July 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [a little piece of gundam wing collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/alittlepieceofgundamwing/profile).  
> \----------  
> //...// - radio

He was not the same person when he came out of that meeting. There was a kind of hollowness in everything he thought about, as though he couldn't find it in himself to care. The world was grayscale; only Duo was still full color, vibrant and lashing out with it, somewhere on the peripherals of Heero's vision.  
  
He had been an idiot to request that Duo work with him. Surely Wufei would have been just as good an observer and wouldn't have to go through the heartache of thinking that Duo may/might/would/could love him back or not.  
  
He jumped over the side of his convertible, the only thing of expense he owned, and turned on the gas. It reminded him of Wing. Yes, that was why he got it! He wanted to hit the wheel. He wanted to punch his fist through a wall. The baka thought they were playing a _game!_  
  
He would have driven away if it weren't for Duo's energetic form unexpectedly leaning on the passenger door. He plastered himself on it, and Heero couldn't drive off without risking serious injury to the boy.  
  
"What?" He turned to ask Duo, not curtly, but not quite interested either. It almost hurt to look at him knowing what Heero knew now. If everything had been a game, then Heero had lost because he had invested real emotion into something that had been a farce.  
  
"Nothing." Duo looked at him with professionally faked innocence. "Just imprinting that scowl on my memories, for further dissection when I have a particularly happy day. We can't have too much happiness in this world, something might explode, ya know."  
  
"You're babbling."  
  
Duo sighed and stopped leaning against the car, his hands now on his hips. "Not afraid to insult."   
  
He looked almost contemplative, but there was sadness to his eyes that Heero couldn't place. "When I first saw you I knew you could insult anyone to death, hardly batting your eye lashes."  
  
_Eye lashes?_  
  
Heero waited for the point of this. He wondered if it would hurt if he just drove away. Probably, although Duo wouldn't even guess so, since he seemed oblivious so far.  
  
"Destined to be killed by you." Duo had once told him. _Destined to be hurt by you,_ Heero had wanted to reply. Yet he hadn't silenced the threat, he'd taken it in his arms and cared for it for a week.   
_  
And yet we stay with each other happy with merely existing in the same place._  
  
"Ah, but then I thought _\--_ insult _me_ with my charming personality? Not possible!" Duo was faking a grin at him as he interrupted Heero's internal monologue.  
  
"You should have remembered that thought when you shot me." Heero said, and then _\--_  
  
It hung in the air like The Worst Insult. Duo hated to be reminded of their first meeting, but Heero was willing to play dirty today in payback. It was one for one, after Duo had stabbed him like that in Lady Une's office.  
  
He might have still driven away, no matter how abrupt or damaging it might have been to their relationship, except Duo in one fluid motion jumped over the other side of the convertible, just like Heero had done earlier, and settled into the passenger seat.  
  
It sounded like an order when he said strongly and quietly, "Drive."   
  
Heero didn't know if he minded this or not. It was shaping up to be a close proximity encounter, and he could feel his heart-rate speed up, but refusing Duo was always harder than refusing himself. He took a look in the sideway mirror, saw the _staring_ that was going on behind their back and figured that some privacy was a good idea after all. What the other people thought of this relationship never concerned him, but _\--_ despite the hurt Duo caused him _\--_ he was too much in love not to be considerate of Duo's sensibilities.  
  
Heero drove away, leaving Quatre and other curious on-lookers to their best guesses. It was something he liked to do often.  
  
+  
  
//...Now I tell you openly. You have my hurt so _don't hurt me!_ //  
  
The world was conspiring against him. Of course, Duo wanted some noise in the car while they drove. Of course, the radio would be playing a song that at least somewhat hinted at the tension between them! Didn't this always happen when you least wanted it to?  
  
Should Heero dare to turn off the song, he was not prepared to deal with Duo's speculations, so he kept his hands firmly on the wheel, even though the words were becoming increasingly annoying.  
  
//...I want more _\--_ //  
  
Heero's hand twitched on the wheel. Duo squirmed a little in his seat.  
  
//...You're everything to me...//  
  
Ye gads.  
  
It was the end of the song thanks to whatever deities. Heero felt if he could survive the last couplet he was safe.  
  
He didn't know how wrong he was. Deities were not up there to baby-sit him through this turbulent relationship, that much he found out at the beginning of the next song. It started with, "I just can't get you out of my head," and quickly developed into, "Boy, your loving is all I think about." Here Duo broke, and turned the thing off, muttering, "Jesus," quietly to himself. Heero could see some real sentiment behind those words.   
  
Thankfully, they were also nearing Duo's salvage yard.  
  
The yard was a hobby Duo had refused to let go of. He claimed that it made him feel good to build and repair things, considering how much he had taken apart in the past. Heero could see something in that logic.  
  
"How did you know I wanted to go here?" Duo asked him once they'd stopped, making absolutely no move to exit the car.   
  
It was true that when he'd said 'drive' no particular direction was given. "You always want to go here."  
  
"Heh," Duo scratched at his sun burned nose in a whimsical fashion, "Maybe I should make myself a car out of this junk."  
  
Heero sat quietly. These little trips they made were his only constant source of one-on-one time with Duo.  
  
"Maybe not." Duo continued, laughing, as though he knew exactly why Heero didn't agree. "Maybe you'll drive me around forever." He was kidding. Somewhat.  
  
"Maybe." Heero said simply, not looking away from the other boy.  
  
They looked at each other for a bit, measuring how serious about that prospect the other was.   
  
"So...What?" Duo asked after a minute of this rather comfortable gazing and memorizing of each other's faces. Truthfully, Duo could charm anybody with that slight smile and his exotic eyes. The eyes alone were enough of a drug for Heero to feel light-headed.  
  
Heero didn't have words. He loved Duo _\--_ that was enough. He loved him so much he couldn't speak of it. It would be too mundane. His heart would never vary.  
  
Duo had to have seen it in his face, because he jumped to all the right conclusions. "Uh, Heero? Do you or do you not wanna...?" Here Duo's voice trailed off abruptly. He looked down to his lap in an unconscious gesture, embarrassed and puzzled that he was so.  
  
This was still a savable moment. A 'Hn', a grin, and they were back to friendly terms, but did they want to go back?  
  
Duo didn't want to say the words out loud. They were both boys, and quite aware of that fact, having spent long sleepless nights thinking that, 'No, that fact shouldn't matter if the emotion is there, but it _did_ matter, damn it!'  
  
Looking up, Duo braved the topic because both of them knew Heero was not going to.  
  
"If I kiss you _\--_ " He was blushing badly, and his breathing was short, "what will happen?"  
  
Heero turned to him fully.   
  
"I will kiss you back."   
  
Thus happened the point of No Return. There was some relieved downtime after that as they considered each other, figuring out strategies, escape plans and possible casualties. They were such bad tacticians, Heero thought. Here they were within a foot of each other, and they wouldn't do a thing about eliminating that distance.   
  
"Ah...Maybe-Shouldn't we try it?" Again it was Duo who asked, but Heero had leaned forward before Duo finished speaking.  
  
Their lips met, the angle slight and precise, and wonderfully comfortable. It wasn't a slow motion kiss _\--_ they were too eager to draw it out. It wasn't too quick either _\--_ they couldn't bear to be apart anymore, and moved closer, pressing against each other's chests, the rest of their bodies still in the respective seats.   
  
They kissed for a little while, hearts in their throats, terrified of making a mistake. As the moments passed, their lips began to touch as though it was a common gesture, something they did everyday.  
  
By the time they separated, Heero discovered they were both not in their seats anymore, but rather somehow taking up the space between, bodies molded together as though they've been trying to crawl inside each other. And although it hadn't felt like a bad idea, again they drew apart, remembering at the touch that they were both boys.  
  
Heero felt he could ignore it if he tried. He knew he loved Duo. His first kiss just now had been a _very_ pleasant experience and he was ready to do it again, soon.  
  
Duo didn't look quite as sure. He said something, but Heero didn't hear.  
  
"Duo?" Heero couldn't stop watching the movement of Duo's lips. The sounds had faded away and he _read_ what Duo had said.  
  
'What will we do?'  
  
Heero didn't have anything profound to say. What _would_ they do? Live? Duo looked over at him, saw something he felt comfortable with and moved closer. In Heero's understanding it meant he could put his arms around the other boy, and so he did. After a moment or so, Duo relaxed against him, but not enough to completely slump on him, just a slight pressure on Heero's supportive body.  
  
They sat like that for a little while. It was very new; they'd never been this close before purely for the body contact _\--_ Duo's left arm and shoulder against Heero's chest, pressed at a comfortable angle, so that Heero could wrap his arms around Duo's body. Heero was afraid to use any force, so he just let his hands lay limp around Duo and held them together.  
  
"You can hold me tighter," Duo mentioned after a while.  
  
Heero pressed the boy a little closer to himself. It felt better. Duo had to twist his head now to look at the side of Heero's face.   
  
"Tighter,"  
  
Heero hugged him as strongly as he dared to, and Duo didn't protest. Duo craned his neck and touched the side of Heero's cheek with his lips. Heero looked down, sliding his lips over to where Duo could reach them. He hit Duo's nose first, kissed it, moved down, found Duo's lips.  
  
It was perfect.  
  
After a while, eager, Heero pressed the other boy very close.   
  
"Maybe a little less tight," Duo told him, breaking the kiss, and Heero let go almost completely, ashamed of his strength, his breathing uneven.  
  
Duo didn't move away, but turned around entirely to face him, and buried his face into the side of Heero's neck. Duo's lips moved against it, as though he were speaking. Heero slid his cheek over Duo's smooth hair a few times _\--_ he didn't understand.  
  
Duo began tracing a pattern on his back with a finger, the other hand still tightly woven into Heero's shirt, gripping it and pulling Heero to himself.  
  
'Together?'  
  
He then lifted his head, suddenly and smoothly, moved back a bit so that he could receive Heero's answer.  
  
'We've been together for a long time.' Heero mouthed back, silent, still keeping the boy close.   
  
Duo looked past his shoulder at the memories only he could see. He broke the silence with the same calm decisiveness and lack of regret with which broke many other things.  
  
"Yes. We have been dating for a while now." Duo chuckled and sighed at the same time. To a stranger it would have sounded like a whimper, but Duo had chuckled, and had sighed.  
  
"Dating?" This was news to Heero, who'd suddenly remembered the whole rose-puppy-date scenario. He was rushing things. He was going the high-risk road.  
  
"Yeah. Didn't you know?" Duo was chuckling, relaxing some more and stopping his convulsive gripping of Heero's shirt, "I thought you did."  
  
"Aa. Possibly." Heero agreed. Their whole acquaintance felt like what romance should be about. Excitement much? Heero thought wryly. "Subconsciously, I knew," he clarified.  
  
"Aah." Duo drew closer with that sound.  
  
"Let's put _\--_ " Heero moved closer, their lips touched, "more ...conscious effort," by then the words were being gasped out between both of their lips.  
  
/...in/ was just a thought.  
  
All the while Duo wouldn't let go of him, and Heero would not let go of Duo either. The numbness parted and moved aside for them.  
  
+  
  
They didn't sleep together.   
  
Heero supposed it was a good thing, considering he wasn't ready to deal with all that it entailed. Despite what they wrote in books, he felt he could survive not making physical love to Duo a while yet. He attributed this to some kind of weird psychological residue from his lifestyle before and during the war _\--_ after all it seemed as though the first thing people did after they declared affection for each other was get naked. Duo didn't seem to mind too much though, so if they had to deviate from normality again, they could at least do it together.  
  
He felt comforted by the thought of Duo's hands on his body. Heero imagined Duo running his fingers over his chest. It was an arousing thought, and at the same time it made him want to smile. More than ever, Heero wanted to see him.  
  
So it was with these thoughts that he made his way towards the office, past the coffee machine _\--_ He didn't make it further than that.  
  
Sudden scalding heat burned his mouth and hands as it quickly slipped through his thin white shirt and onto the skin underneath.   
  
From the corner of his eyes he'd seen a woman's figure turning, looking in the other direction, but expected to be able to avoid her. She'd jerked back in fright in the last moment and splashed all her hot coffee across his face, chest and hands.  
  
For a second, Heero rubbed at his chin and lips, trying to get the remaining hot liquid off, already feeling the burning begin. Perfect. He was sure Duo wouldn't kiss him until the burns healed.  
  
"Oh my God!" The woman was familiar. "I'm so sorry! Mr. Yui _\--_ "   
  
Oh, yes. He remembered his latest secretary well.  
  
She was gasping and pale, her hand against her mouth in an expression of horror. They were causing a commotion and Heero looked down to see what had become of his shirt. It was a work of art really, with coffee stains and sugar liberally splashed all the way down.  
  
Heero tried to avoid the people, ducking towards his office, but _\--_ of course _\--_ bumped into Duo waiting by the door. Duo's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise at Heero's appearance, but he followed through with that thought, immediately dashing towards Heero with a handkerchief he'd whipped out of nowhere. He poured the cold water from a plastic cup he'd been holding when Heero appeared on the piece of material and began dabbing at Heero's face even as they moved into Heero's office.  
  
"What happened?" Duo asked as he worked.   
  
Heero began unbuttoning his shirt, removing the heated wet material from his skin, "My ex- secretary spilled the coffee all over me."  
  
Duo paused in his ministrations for a second. "You're kidding." He said in a hushed with awe voice.  
  
"No."  
  
Duo laughed even as he moved on to wiping coffee off of Heero's hands. He then moved on to Heero's neck and the spots on Heero's chest where the liquid had seeped through the shirt. Suddenly Heero became aware that the blinds in his office weren't closed, and he instantly remembered that his office also had floor to ceiling glass windows on one side. He chanced a look and saw half the office staring inside. Heero wondered if he should tell Duo that they were performing for an audience.  
  
"All done, I guess," Duo commented meanwhile. "I cannot _believe_ she did it again. What the hell do you do to her that she spills coffee every time you're near?" He laughed again, throwing his head back, "Maybe you were right to be glad she quit."  
  
Heero suddenly found himself looking straight into Duo's eyes. "That girl is a menace." Duo concluded, his finger's rising toward Heero's face, "Your lips are burned."  
  
And Duo proved Heero's earlier assumption wrong, kissing him softly, as though to heal the hurt. On the lips, eyes closed, in front of the whole Preventers' office.  
  
Duo must have felt something in the atmosphere, because he opened his eyes and moved back a bit to look at Heero. Then Duo's gaze moved on to the crowd outside.  
  
His first impulse was to falter backwards, as his hands groped Heero's desk for support, his face whiter than chalk. Then blood rushed to his face, rendering him completely speechless and immobile, as all he could do was stare in helpless shock out of the glass wall. Heero, still clad only in pants, strode over to the glass panel and with a few expert twists shut the blinds rendering them alone in the room.  
  
When Heero turned back, Duo's face was turned to studiously watch the opposite wall. Suddenly, the boy slid down to the floor, sitting cross-legged, the back of his head against the desk. His eyes squeezed shut, Duo started to thoroughly beat his head against the side of the desk, in mute expression of mortification.  
  
Heero sat on his legs in front of the other boy. He reached out and placed his hand between Duo's head and the desk so that the next time Duo went to hit himself, he beat his head against Heero's softer hand instead. Duo opened his eyes.  
  
"I can't believe I did that." the boy whispered.  
  
They were so close, Heero was sure his breath touched Duo's cheek just as Duo's touched his. "Does it matter?"  
  
Heero knew he was asking for a lot, but as Duo searched his face for elaboration on that question, he found himself wishing that Duo would accept things as they were. It was almost like committing to each other if a third party knew of their relationship. (Or x-th party as the case might be, Heero thought deprecatingly.)  
  
Quietly, as though it was an effort, Duo whispered,  
  
"I love you Heero. Let the world know it." Duo swallowed thickly, looking up from under his bangs.  
  
Heero appreciated the effort. He kissed Duo, telling him with his lips.  
  
+  
  
After he'd been home and back to put a new shirt on underneath his Preventer's jacket, Heero found Duo again in the cafeteria..  
  
Duo was sitting with Wufei of all people, looking rather morose as he leaned against his hand. Wufei was talking to him and it didn't seem to be making Duo any happier.  
  
As Heero neared, Wufei followed Duo's gaze past his shoulder, turning to Heero and assessing him in one powerful glance. There was no expression on his face whatsoever.  
  
"Heero," he said in greeting.  
  
Heero nodded to him and sat down in a spare chair besides Wufei and across from Duo, who was on the other side of the table.  
  
Wufei fixed a look on the table for a second before beginning the conversation. "I heard interesting things in the office today," he said as though he expected Heero to start denying everything. Was that what he and Duo had been talking about before? He glanced at the braided boy, seeing the residual sadness in his mouth line, and getting angry with Wufei who had _no_ right to interfere.  
  
"No doubt." Heero answered nonchalantly, "It's a good thing the weekend is coming up otherwise the office would be buzzing with the news of Relena Peacecraft's arrival all working week."  
  
Wufei gave him a grim smile at his avoidance. Heero simply wanted to treat his and Duo's relationship as a normal thing, not something to be whispering into the internal Preventer's phone lines.  
  
"So you and Maxwell are joined at the hip now?" Wufei asked next, voice edgy, not letting him off the hook.  
  
"Wu. Fei." Duo's voice was soft but lacked no conviction as he stared deeply into the Chinese boy's face, stopping any further remarks. Technically it was obvious that Wufei only wanted to make sure neither of them got hurt chasing the wind, but it was too early in their relationship to get technical like that.  
  
Heero considered what he was about to do. It had taken him some thought to realize that Duo might want proof of his feelings, something he could point at if anybody wondered. The day before, he had told Duo all about the kind suggestion a woman in the hospital had made about a plant leading to a pet leading to dating. Duo had smiled at him, placing his hand on the back of Heero's neck and bumping their foreheads together so that their noses touched slightly, then told Heero that he'd been wondering about the rose. Sitting on the edge of Heero's bed, they'd kissed and pressed against each other, eager to be close.  
  
Heero had felt it then, in the way Duo held him very tightly, that the insecurity was too strong in this relationship yet. He had thought about it again when Duo had put his feelings into words in his office. There was something he could give in return.  
  
"I love Duo, yes." Heero said staring straight at the boy before him, Wufei's surprise melting into the background.  
  
Something soft whispered pleasure back at him from Duo's unusual violet eyes.  
  
Fin.


End file.
